


The Customs of High Society

by for_darkness_shows_the_stars



Series: What Comes After [6]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: AKA just regular suki, Aang (Avatar) is a Cinnamon Roll, BAMF Suki, BAMF Toph Beifong, Badass Katara (Avatar), Crack, Gen, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Minor Sokka/Suki, Post-War, Sokka and Suki love each other very much, Swearing, Warriors of Kyoshi, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, and a bit oblivious, and a theatre nerd, because toph, but his people love him anyway, fuck the patriarchy, guys i love her so much you have no idea, i'm gonna be adding tags as i go on, let katara eat sexist men for breakfast 2k20, let's be fair how could they not???, me@EK nobles: he a BABY!!!, people trying to seduce children for political purposes, poppy shall go distracted, toph is the feral dirtchild we deserved, unintentional matchmaker aang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27916990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/for_darkness_shows_the_stars/pseuds/for_darkness_shows_the_stars
Summary: What do you do when when the entire World was flipped upside down in just a few months, and the most powerful people in it are now a bunch of children?Why, curry their favour, of course.Or; in which people keep trying to seduce teenagers because they just so happen to be the most politically influential people in the World.
Series: What Comes After [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981828
Comments: 123
Kudos: 233





	1. Aang

Aang loved it when people loved him.

This must’ve been the seventh time he was performing the marble trick today, and his audience still hasn’t stopped _oohing_ and _aahing_. These two families were _sooo nice_.

And the house was _awesome_. It was a mansion nearly as large as Toph’s parents’, in the middle of a huge garden, and the food was _really tasty_ , and they made sure all of Aang’s portions were vegetarian.

Lord Huaxing Shiying and his wife, the Lady Xianqiao, the owners of this awesome house, sat at one end of the long table, while Count Wei Huazing and Countess Huang sat at the other end. Aang was seated precisely in the middle between the two. Their sons sat across from him, while their daughters were placed on both his sides.

The girls, especially, seemed to be enraptured with Aang’s marble trick. Though their plates were set a normal distance away, they’ve both abandoned them in favour of pressing closer to Aang’s sides, and _oohing_ and _aahing_. They’ve been the most enthusiastic _oohers_ and _aahers_ **_ever_** _._

“You’re _so_ talented, Avatar Aang,” the older girl, Hua Shiying, said, batting her eyelashes.

“Thanks!” Aang grinned. “I was the youngest kid to get my tattoos in the Temple in, like, _ever_.”

“How old were you, Avatar Aang?” asked the younger girl, Jasmine Huaxing. She was a year older than Aang, but smaller and thinner.

“Twelve,” Aang replied, and did the marble trick again. It elicited another round of _oohs_ and _aahs_ , not only from Hua and Jasmine, but also from Lord Huaxing, Lady Xianquao, Count Wei and Countess Huang, as well as the boys, Wuliao Shiying and Shizi Huazing.

“Wow,” said Hua. She batted her eyelashes again.

“You are _so_ talented, Avatar Aang,” said Jasmine.

Aang smiled, but Hua was having none of it. She grabbed her water glass and splashed it all over Jasmine and her pretty green dress.

Jasmine yelped, but Hua just smirked like a cat-owl, brimming with self-satisfaction. Lord Huaxing and the Lady Xianquao both turned as red as Aang’s Fire Nation school uniform.

“Stop stealing my lines!” the girl growled.

“It’s not my fault he likes me more!” hissed Jasmine.

Count Wei and Countess Huang looked mortified.

“No, he doesn’t!” hissed Hua in return. “And who would, with that _awful_ hair style? Did you slick your hair back with a hippocow’s tongue?”

Jasmine inhaled sharply. “How dare you! At least _I_ don’t look like a frightened owl-cat!”

“You take that back!” Hua bellowed.

Aang looked back and forth between the girls. “Maybe I should just … go?”

* * *

A few years later, he was invited to their wedding.


	2. Katara

Sangok found the girl in the inner courtyard of the bending school, carefully manoeuvring thin streams of water into an interwoven circular construction. A sculpture for the newly built Town Hall, as he understood.

Once she deemed the sculpture complete, she curved her fingers into claws, and the whole thing froze. The ice was unnaturally clear, and it reflected the sparse sunlight, making it glow like a brilliant.

She paused, hands on her hips, and examined the result of her work. Sangok didn’t know what she was looking for, but she evidently found it, melting a part of it and reshaping the water into something more intricate.

He cleared his throat. The girl spun around and raised a brow. “Yes?”

She was pretty in the way of young women still growing into their beauty. Sangok should have been glad of that, shouldn’t he?

But there was something fierce glimmering in her eyes, something that made him want to crawl away, seek shelter.

Sangok gave the girl his most charming smile. “Miss Katara,” he began, “I am Sangok of the Northern Water Tribe.”

“Well,” said she, inclining her head, “you clearly know my name already. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Actually, Miss Katara, I was wondering if I could possibly … get to know you better, sometime?”

She hummed, forming yet another water whip and shaping it into the form.

“Because I have heard a lot about you,” Sangok continued bravely, “and I really believe we could be good friends, Miss Katara, and maybe more.”

She hummed again, still not looking at him.

“Miss Katara?” Sangok called.

“It’s _Master_ ,” she finally spoke, her voice as cold as the wastes of the South Pole, and as sharp as the ice shards she commanded. “ _Master_ Katara, of the Northern and the Southern waterbending styles. I earned that title, you see, a thousand times over. I had to challenge Master Pakku untrained to even get a chance, so you understand why I’m rather protective of it.”

Chills went down Sangok’s spine. His father and uncle had warned him, but …

“You’re Hanik’s nephew, aren’t you?” she continued.

“Um, yes … Mi—I mean, _Master_ Katara.”

She nodded, and finally turned. The fierce glimmer in her eyes that made him feel uneasy before was now an otherworldly _gleam_. Sangok had never thought himself a coward, yet this fifteen year-old _girl_ made him want to run and hide, in a way no Water Tribe warrior or Fire Nation soldier ever did.

“You may congratulate your uncle on my behalf,” she said. “Apparently, it finally got through to his thick skull that we _don’t do_ arranged marriages here, and that he can stop pestering my father.”

“Um—”

“Now, if he would just understand that I have no plans of getting married at this time, no matter how many men he thinks will somehow,” her lip curled into an ugly sneer, “ _tame_ me, he chooses to send.”

“Um—”

“Do tell him all that, would you?” she continued idly. “I’d hate it if the message got lost along the way or something.”

“Um—of course, Master Katara,” Sangok said, bowed at his waist—hating to expose himself to her like that, but aware she clearly demanded respect, and _did not_ run away, no matter how it may have seemed to outside observers.


	3. Toph

_Bored. Bored. Bored._

Sitting on an upholstered chair in her mother’s drawing room, Toph repeated the words like a mantra. The sound of the Lady Yanzhi’s nasal, false laughter at one of Mum’s terrible jokes grated on her nerves.

She was patently ignored by everyone in the room, from Mum, over Yanzhi, to her annoying, perfectly well-behaved kids.

Toph pitied them.

The boy, Chouchu, was fourteen, and he was seated right next to Toph, which she found supremely annoying for some reason.

The girl, Jiemano, was seventeen, and stood silently by her mother’s side, keeping quiet until she was asked a question or joining her mother stupid laughing, and even then, she spoke in a soft, _doormat_ -like voice.

Toph was seriously considering the pros and cons of sneaking the two out to an Earth Rumble so she could show them some _real_ fun. Maybe that would be enough to pull the sticks out of their arses. Hopefully. It would be her good deed of the day.

Just when she’d almost resolved to do it, Chouchu spoke.

“I must say, Lady Beifong, you look radiant today.”

Seriously? What fourteen year-old _spoke_ like that? Did his mum make him memorize that line? Well, Toph decided, might as well have some fun with that.

“I wouldn’t know,” she said, grinning in that way that always made Mum jolt.

From the way Chouchu’s heart lurched, she imagined she’d achieved her goal.

“Right … um,” he stammered. “Well … you do, my lady.”

Toph didn’t bother to answer. Using her heartbeat, she counted down the seconds until this whole farce would be over, and she could change back into her usual clothes.

Unfortunately, Chouchu didn’t seem to get the message she had been trying to disclose, so a mere quarter of an hour later, he cleared his throat and spoke. “Tell me, my lady, what do you like to do for fun?” Toph sensed the Lady Yanzhi’s heartbeat speed up in anticipation. Ah. So it was her who’d put the boy up to this.

“Bending,” Toph answered casually, “scamming, saving the World, and making grown men weep.”

Everyone in the room, save Toph herself, choked on their own spit. Seriously? She reached for one of the delicate biscuits on the table and plopped the whole thing into her mouth.

It was official; Sparky was the only rich person she could stand.

“That last one,” she continued, chewing, “is particularly dear to me. I once trapped the two earthbending masters that my father send to kidnap me in a metal cage and left them in the middle of the forest.” She reached out and curved her fingers into a claw. The delicate silver spoon beside her mother’s plate twisted into a sharp pike. “I wonder if they’re still alive. Oh well.” She shrugged. “I was needed in Ba Sing Se.”

Everyone was staring at her, and Toph felt that this was the opportune time to grin again. “I mean, I would’ve checked on them. Maybe. But Ba Sing Se fell a day later, and we were a tad busy fleeing for our lives.

“Speaking of Ba Sing Se, though … I _fucking_ hate the place.” Her mother’s body temperature had lowered intensely, all the blood receding from the surface layer of her skin. This phenomenon was rather common in humans in the face of danger. “It’s all rules and walls … gah!

“Capturing a Fire Nation ship was fun, though,” she said. _Don’t think about those days. Don’t think about how weak Twinkletoes’ breathing was, or the salty tang of tears on Sugar Queen’s face._

“Toph,” came Mum’s choked-up reprimand.

“Mum! Did I ever tell you about that one time I scammed a Fire Nation town so bad, they put up a wanted poster of me? I’d have it framed or something, but …” she waved a hand back and forth over her face, “I don’t really know what it looks like, so …”

“Toph, please,” Mum pleaded.

“Yes, Mum?” Toph asked, grinning again.

“Perhaps we should cut this visit short,” said the Lady Yanzhi.

“Yeah, you totally should,” huffed Toph, plopping another biscuit into her mouth. “I was seriously staring to feel ill from all the bullshit you’ve spouted.”

Needless to say, the Lady Yanzhi and her annoying-as-fuck-son and prim-as-fuck-daughter _did not_ return anytime soon.


	4. Zuko

Rai was starting to feel really sorry for the kid.

Okay, perhaps referring to one’s sovereign ruler as _the kid_ , even in the privacy of one’s mind, was not quite appropriate, but dammit, Rai had children of his own, and it took him about five minutes of careful studying of his sixteen year-old liege to determine that _yes_ , the Firelord was, in fact, a kid, _yes_ , he was really adorable, and _yes_ , he needed a father-figure in his life. In General Iroh’s absence, Rai was more than happy to try and fulfil the role.

Not that he thought that His Incandescent Majesty himself would appreciate these observations, but Rai figured they were an old man’s prerogative.

At the end of the day, facts were these:

Rai was accompanying his young lord to _yet another_ party, this one hosted by the Lady Mirai.

Rai had previously had the honour of accompanying his young lord to parties like these.

Rai knew very well the toll it took on his young lord not to do what every regular teenage boy would do in these situations and tell everyone to fuck off.

The newest suspect was the Lady Rizokoto. Now, normally Rai did his best to block the overtly obvious flirtation attempts, since he knew very well how uncomfortable it would make him if his daughter, back when she was sixteen, was being charmed by a rich thirty year-old. But the Lady Rizokoto was only eighteen, quite pretty, and overall not creepy enough to warrant caution.

In all his careful considering, though, Rai had forgotten to remember one very important thing.

His Incandescent Majesty was a powerful ruler, confident, determined beyond comprehension and as stubborn as a komodo-rhino … in the matters of state.

The … ah, matters of romance? Not so much.

“You’re a bender, correct, Your Radiance? You must be _really_ powerful.” Rizokoto was smiling an empty smile and batting her darkened eyelashes.

“I mean … I guess?” the kid was replying. “Um, the marriages in the royal family were arranged with the idea of producing the most powerful possible benders for centuries, the chances of anyone born into it not being a bender are so small they’re practically non-existent.”

Rizokoto batted her eyelashes again.

“You’re like Lord Mugen,” she said, naming a character from an obscure ancient play he vaguely remembered being forced to read in school, “rising from the ashes and leading your people into a new era.” The smile she gave him was so sweet Rai was going to throw up. “Who is your Lady Rozupetaru, I wonder?”

_Gross._

“Well, actually,” began the kid. “That’s a common misconception. You see, Mugen and Rozupetaru only thought they were in love, because their idea of each other was based on their childhood friendship. They spent their formative years apart, and once they were reunited, they attempted to make a relationship work because they were both lonely, but at the end of the day, they had both grown up into people who were simply incompatible. Now, if you want an example of actual true love in literature, I’d recommend …”

Yup.

Rai was seriously listening to his young lord explain the intricacies of the romantic relationships from _Love Amongst the Dragons_ to the Lady Rizokoto.

This was his life now.

At this point, Rai shoved propriety into a place where Agni doesn’t shine, and cleared his throat. “I believe the Lady Rizokoto was … flirting with you, Your Majesty.”

The kid blinked. Blinked again. Went as red as his robes. The Lady Rizokoto wasn’t doing much better.

“Oh,” said the kid. “I’ll just …” he took a step back. “Do see _Love Amongst the Dragons_ when you get a chance, my lady, it’s a classic.”

And then, as dignified as he could, he ran away.

“Is there a chance you’d look the other way if I were to drown myself in the turtleduck pond?” the kid asked, snatching a drink from a passing server’s tray. Rai curved a brow and plucked it from the kid’s hand—because he still wasn’t old enough to drink.

The Firelord scowled, but made no move to retrieve his prize.

“You’d traumatize the poor turtleducks like that, Your Majesty?”

The kid paused. Considered. Nodded. “You’re right. The bathtub it is.”


	5. Suki

“Five, six, seven, eight,” Suki dictated, watching the newest recruits perform the simple kata. “Well done, warriors.”

The recruits nodded and bowed at the waist. They were all children, girls whose ages ranged from five to eight years old. The training of a Kyoshi Warrior, with a few notable exceptions, started early.

Ever since the end of the war, there has been an influx of volunteers from the mainland—starstruck girls who wanted to emulate their favourite hero of the Hundred-Year-War, determined orphans with the horrors of war raging from behind their cold eyes, those who saw the war first-hand, maybe lost a loved one or two to it—and refused to ever be so helpless again.

Suki accepted them all, took them all under her wing. She was the Captain. It was her duty and her honour.

Besides, with Ty Lee and a division of girls stationed in the Fire Nation to try and make sure no one kills Zuko in his sleep, the Kyoshi Warriors could use a couple of new recruits.

“Tomorrow, we can go onto more complex forms,” she told them. “So try to get some rest.” The girls bowed in the traditional way of Kyoshi Island and left. Exhaling a long breath, Suki let her head fall back and rolled her shoulders. It had been a long day.

“Captain?” she heard a familiar voice call and immediately snapped into her usual steady stance, turning around. Jilie stood in the doorway of the dojo, her face impassive behind a mask of white and red war paint. “There’s a man who wants to speak with you.”

Suki groaned. “Another impoverished nobleman trying to foist off a daughter he doesn’t have the money to marry off?”

Jilie made a face. “Not so far as I know.”

Suki hummed. “Great. Anything else you can tell me?”

Jilie shrugged. “Not really. A young guy, from the eastern parts of the Earth Kingdom, if I read his accent right. He was very insistent.”

“Well,” Suki sighed, “I suppose I can go see him. At the docks, right?”

She nodded. “Want me to come with you?”

“Sure,” Suki shrugged. “Why not?”

The walk down to the docks was pleasant, the mid-autumn chill making the air fresh and crisp, the steadily rising sun bathing the island in its golden light. Jillie hummed a familiar melody on their way down, and Suki nodded to any villager who they passed.

The Kyoshi Island port was busier than Suki had ever seen it before. Of course, for the past hundred years, the Unagi dutifully scared off most of the arrivals, and devoured those stupid enough to ignore the fear.

But now, she could see the long, fast boats with the triangular sails in the blue of the Water Tribe, the grander, luxurious Earth Kingdom ships, and the Fire Nation’s metal behemoths, all mixed together. A year ago, Suki could never have imagined the joy the sight would bring her.

“There,” Jilie pointed towards a figure leaning casually against a low stone wall that bordered off one of the houses. “He came on one of the Earth Kingdom ships.”

“Thanks,” Suki nodded, and made her way towards the guy.

He turned out to be a young man, eighteen years old at the most. Brown hair pulled from his face into a low ponytail, vivid green eyes, bare feet—an earthbender, then. And when he spotted her, he jumped like burned, and bowed at the waist.

Suki curved a brow. “How may I help you?”

“I’ve travelled from Ba Sing Se,” the young man said, “to see you.”

“Okay?” said Suki. “But why?”

Green eyes shot up. “Because I love you, Captain Suki.”

…

“What.”

“For so long now, I’ve dreamed of you.”

“What.”

“Your beauty shames the Sun Spirit himself. He hides behind the clouds …”

Suki looked up. The day was perfectly clear, not a cloud in sight.

“Oh, how sweet a melody your voice is. The birds themselves have fallen silent, lest they be compared …”

Nightingale-sparrows were chirping in the trees. Haven’t stopped all day.

“Um …”

“No lady of noble birth boasts your poise, your grace, your—”

“Okay, buddy … _slow down_.”

“As my lady wishes,” said the young man, and bowed at the waist.

“Let’s start with your name,” Suki said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Why of course! How remiss of me. I am Chinou of Ba Sing Se.”

“Okay …” said Suki. “And what are you doing here, at the ... other end of the Earth Kingdom?”

“I came to confess my undying love for you.”

Suki … really regretted leaving the dojo with Jillie.

“I … I’m not sure that’s going to work,” she settled on saying.

“I understand,” said Chinou, green eyes blown wide. “You don’t know me as I do you! But that’s okay! I bought a house here, so we can get to know each other better!”

Suki exhaled a loud breath. Wondered if the Unagi was hungry.

“You are aware I am in a committed relationship, right?”

Chinou ignored her, rattling on and on about his new house on Kyoshi Island.

This … was going to be annoying, wasn’t it?”


	6. Sokka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teeechnically, there's no Sokka here, but it's still one of my favourites!

Hakoda was on his way back home from a hunt when Arluk approached him. He was a stocky, tall man, from one of the families who’d moved in from the North.

“Listen, Chief,” said he, hands clasped casually behind his back, “there’s something we need to talk about.”

Hakoda always made sure to be available for every member of his tribe, whether they were born here or in the North. Community was the pillar upon which their society stood, where no man or woman was left behind. Just because he was a chief did not mean he would close himself off to his people, no matter where they came from.

That was a lesson, he thought with a smile, the Earth King and the Firelord could stand to learn.

But then again, they did have a lot more people to look after.

“Of course,” he said. “Walk with me?”

Arluk nodded, and they made their way to the newly-built docks. Merchants from all corners of the world scattered about, goods being exported and imported in equal measure.

It was a while before Arluk spoke. “This pertains my daughter.”

“Nauja?”

The man looked up in surprise. “You know her name?”

“Of course,” Hakoda said. “She’s friends with Katara.”

Arluk seemed relieved. “Good. That’s good. I wouldn’t want her to be lonely … Anyway … this is also about your son, Chief.”

Hakoda blinked. “Sokka? What about him?”

“Him and Nauja, naturally. I really think they’d be a good match. Sokka has already proven himself a skilled warrior and hunter, and Nauja is a good sort of girl. I think they might be very happy together,” Arluk said.

Hakoda … blinked again. “Are you trying to set them up or something?”

It was Arluk’s turn to blink now. “ _Set them up_? Is that what they’re calling it here, Chief?”

“Calling … what, here?” Hakoda asked, though he had a feeling he knew.

Oh, his mother would _kill_ him if he ever considered it. Good for him he would _never._

“Why, betrothals, of course,” Arluk said, as though _Hakoda_ was the unreasonable one here.

Hakoda paused in his tracks. “Arluk … are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?” At Arluk’s puzzled look, he clarified, “Are you talking about arranging a marriage between my son and your daughter?”

“Of course,” Arluk frowned. “Nauja will soon be sixteen, she is friends with your daughter, and you and I, I hope, are friends as well. Surely you saw this coming.”

Hakoda took a deep breath and fisted his hands. _This is for you, Mum_.

“Arluk, we don’t _do_ arranged marriages here in the South. Never have, never will. My daughter fought tooth and nail to pass the law that required all such betrothals broken off. And you want me to sell my son to the highest bidder just like that?”

Arluk seemed genuinely surprised by this. “What, and you’re telling me you aren’t negotiating a betrothal for Katara at all?” He was _sarcastic_. Like he expected Hakoda to be doing just that.

Has he _met_ Katara?

With a wry curve of his lips, Hakoda said dryly, “I would really like to see anyone try and force Katara into anything—least of all a marriage—she doesn’t want. It’d be highly entertaining.”

Arluk spluttered. “So you’re just going to let her marry whoever she wants?!”

“I … _really_ don’t have any say in the matter,” Hakoda chuckled. “Besides, I trust her judgement.”

“And Sokka?! He is your son! Shouldn’t you make sure he doesn’t entangle himself with someone inappropriate? Nauja has been taught by her mother to be the best possible—”

“I’m going to cut you off right there,” Hakoda said grimly. “And let you know that Sokka has been in a happy, dedicated relationship with Captain Suki of Kyoshi Island for months now. In fact, he will be going to visit her within a week’s time. He’s very excited about that.”

“But … but …”

“And do yourself a a favour and let your daughter decide her future for herself, will you,” Hakoda continued over him. “It is her life, not yours. Nauja is a clever, sharp girl. I’m sure she’ll find someone to be happy with.”

“But … but …”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have duties to attend to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!!
> 
> I have a [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/stars-and-darkness) now, so come say hi if you feel so inclined!


End file.
